Shloka 20
Taḍāga-Phala and Vṛkṣāropaṇa
Merit of Ponds and Tree-Planting
दह्यमानाय विप्राय य: प्रयच्छत्युपानहौ । सस्नातकाय महाबाहो संशिताय द्विजातये
dahyamānāya viprāya yaḥ prayacchatyupānahau | sasnātakāya mahābāho saṃśitāya dvijātaye ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O du Mächtigarmiger: Wer einem bedrängten Brāhmaṇa, der unter der Not gleichsam brennt, ein Paar Sandalen schenkt—zumal einem frisch graduierten, disziplinierten Snātaka, einem Zweimalgeborenen—vollbringt eine hochverdienstvolle Gabe: Er lindert unmittelbares Leid und ehrt die Würde des Gelehrten.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights practical compassion: giving even a simple necessity like sandals to an afflicted brāhmaṇa—especially a disciplined snātaka—counts as dharmic charity because it directly alleviates suffering and supports the life of study and restraint.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the fruits of various gifts. Here he singles out the merit of gifting sandals to a distressed learned person, emphasizing timely, need-based giving.